A 30-year-old U.S. soldier was killed over the weekend in Iraq during what the U.S. military said was a controlled explosion to destroy an attack drone.
Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was “killed in action during a controlled detonation” of the drone at Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq, the Pentagon said in a statement Tuesday.
The statement made no mention of the projectile being Iranian, but a bulletin from U.S. Central Command on Sunday said it was a “downed Iranian one-way attack drone.“
The incident remains under investigation.
U.S. Army
The U.S. military said Swinton was killed Sunday, but the CENTCOM bulletin said he died Saturday.
CENTCOM said a second service member was wounded in the same incident and treated for what it called a “minor injury.”
In remarks to reporters on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the troops “were decommissioning ammunition and an accident happened in that process and they were harmed,” without giving further details.
Swinton was part of D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He joined the army in 2017 as an air defense early warning operator, according to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense command (USASMDC).
“His service will not be forgotten, and his sacrifice is not in vain,” USASMDC commanding general Lt. Gen. John L. Rafferty said in a statement. “We will support Sgt. Swinton’s family and his unit during this difficult period. His loss will inspire his fellow Soldiers to continue the mission.”
Swinton was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant and will receive the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, the USASMDC said.
On Monday, the Pentagon also named two soldiers who were killed in an Iranian attack on an air base in southern Jordan. They were identified as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, who was killed Saturday, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, who was killed Friday. Both were stationed at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
The Pentagon said Tuesday a third soldier who was previously assessed as missing from the air base in Jordan is now believed to have been killed. The soldier was identified as 28-year-old active-duty Army Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad of Ozone Park, New York. Rampersad was assigned to a unit based in Germany.
Nearly 100 American service members have been injured in multiple Iranian attacks on bases across the Middle East this month, U.S. officials told CBS News on Monday. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the numbers in a statement to CBS News, saying almost 100 people “were deemed to have some degree of injury since July 7, 2026,” 96% of whom had returned to duty.
“They are determined to get back in the fight. The vast majority of injuries experienced were minor concussions,” Parnell said.
The uptick in U.S. casualties comes as hostilities ramp back up after the collapse of a ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.
The U.S. military has carried strikes on Iranian targets for 10 consecutive nights, saying it is seeking to stop Iran from attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has retaliated by striking U.S. assets in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and other U.S.-allied states in the region, as well as attacking vessels in the strait.